Indian American indicted for conspiracy to defraud

From Lalit K Jha
Washington, Sept 29 (PTI) Federal prosecutors have
charged Indian-American neurosurgeon Arvind Ahuja, a client of
HSBC, with evading US taxes through the global bank's India
operations and conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS).
Ahuja from Wiscosin was previously indicted in June 2011
on four counts of willfully filing materially false tax
returns and four counts of failing to file Reports of Foreign
Bank and Financial Accounts (FBARs).
The superseding indictment was returned Wednesday in
Milwaukee. A trial date has not yet been set.
The indictment is part of a broadening US investigation
into Swiss and Swiss-style banks that enable American clients
to hide income offshore and evade US taxes.
According to the superseding indictment, Dr Ahuja, a
board-certified neurosurgeon, wire transferred and maintained
millions of dollars in bank accounts in India and the
Bailiwick of Jersey at The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking
Corporation Ltd. (HSBC).
In 2009, the HSBC bank account in India had a balance of
USD 8,733,785.
The superseding indictment alleges that Dr Ahuja failed
to report these bank accounts to the IRS on his 2006-2009 tax
returns.
The indictment alleges that he failed to report more
than USD 1.2 million in interest income that he earned from
his HSBC India account and failed to pay the taxes due on that
income.
For the 2006-2009 tax years, Dr Ahuja also failed to
file FBARs to report his foreign bank accounts to the
Department of the Treasury.
The superseding indictment also alleges that Dr Ahuja
conspired with HSBC bankers who worked at an HSBC India office
in New York to conceal from the IRS the existence, ownership
and income derived from his undeclared bank accounts at HSBC
India and HSBC Jersey.
Meanwhile, Ahuja denied all charges against him and said
he is innocent and expressed confidence that he will be
acquitted of all the charges.
Dan Webb, Ahuja's attorney, said in a statement that the
government's allegations are "far off-base, and we will
continue to present a vigorous, fact-based defence."
"Dr Ahuja is innocent of these allegations, and we
remain confident that a jury will acquit him of all charges."
The additional charge brought yesterday does not allege
that even a single dollar of additional tax is owed, Webb
said.
Noting that Dr Ahuja had interest-bearing accounts
at a large, multi-national bank, the lawyer said bank's
failure to issue him any documents that stated his interest
income from these accounts directly caused the government’s
prosecution.
"Dr Ahuja has paid all US income taxes on all monies
deposited into these foreign bank accounts as well as his
personal income in the US. The only issue is taxes owed on the
interest earned in these foreign bank accounts," he claimed.
Arguing that Dr Ahuja has always worked scrupulously,
with a team of professional financial advisers and
accountants, to pay all taxes and interest he owes and follow
all applicable state and federal tax laws and regulations,
Webb said the neurosurgeon is a man of strong principles and
character who respects and obeys the law.
Earlier this year, the IRS offered US taxpayers who
held foreign bank accounts an opportunity to participate in an
amnesty program, he said adding that this means that those
individuals will be able to pay back taxes and any related
fines and in exchange will not be subject to criminal charges.
"Unfortunately, Dr Ahuja has not been allowed to
participate in this amnesty programme, despite the fact that
once he became aware that interest income was not reported to
him by the bank, he paid all taxes owed, plus interest and
late payment penalties, for all of the years in which he held
those accounts – including those years for which the statute
of limitations had already expired," Webb said.
The lawyer claimed that these allegations have
absolutely nothing to do with Dr Ahuja's practice of medicine,
and his primary focus remains on providing his patients with
world-class neurosurgical care.